Life Lately: Winter Thoughts

As some of you may have noticed, I took most of the month of December off from blogging. It was partially because I was just so busy with work and the holidays but I also realized I’d lost my spark.

I was mostly down to personal and photography posts – and only one of those showed my full heart. Then something happened that had potential to out this little space of mine to people I know in real life and I realized I had to take a step back. So, that’s what I did – I took some time off from blogging, social media, and the internet in general (excepting Amazon of course, which I frequented a little too often…). I needed time to think about my purpose in continuing this blog and the possibility of starting another. There are so many things I want to write about that don’t really fit this space. But I’ve decided that for now, I don’t care. If I want to write about it, up it goes. Those who want to read it can, and those who don’t can skip over it. Maybe if any one topic starts to dominate I’ll reconsider my options, but for now I want to just let this space be what it will be without worry. Same goes for those in real life people – if they find me, so be it. I don’t want that to change how I feel about this space I’ve grown to love so much.

All that said, I have decided to begin a project that I’ve wanted to do for a long time now – a proper photography website/blog. It’s currently under construction, but I’m sure I’ll be sharing it in time. A lot of the content will likely overlap, but my plan is to feature more photography over there and more words over here. We’ll see how it works out. Can I just tell you though how excited I am about this?! It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time but have never felt confident in my work or my ability to keep it updated properly. But it finally occurred to me that if I don’t try, then I’ll never really know – so try I shall!

The last couple of weeks have been spent mostly focused on this Ireland trip. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a trip since my first study abroad adventure – and that was over 13 years ago! (And can I just ask – where does the time go?!? Wow…) I need some time away and to myself. I’m excited about the photo potential, of course, but I’m most excited about having 7 beautiful days to do whatever I want as the mood strikes. No work, no social obligations, no normal responsibilities. I’m the only one I have to concern myself with, and as selfish as that may sound, it’s also something I desperately need. I see this trip as the ultimate self-care indulgence and I’m not the least bit sorry for it. (smile)

Deep thoughts – if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

I’ve realized over the last several months just how important self-care can be – on all levels. Last fall, I signed up for an intuitive studies class. As an example of what that means, some of the classes focused on psychic abilities and others on mediumship – exercises for the intuition if you will. I believe I’ve mentioned before that I was a religious studies minor in college – any and all types of religion fascinate me – and I like to continue that education in any way that calls to me. All that to say, I stumbled upon this course and suddenly knew I had to go. Listening to my gut and showing up to class was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long, long time. Whether you believe in the details behind the practices or not, the class was a wonderful opportunity to get in tune with myself. I learned to trust my instincts and not discredit feelings in favor of societal pressures. It has been so freeing!! And on top of it all, I met an amazing group of like-minded individuals who I am so happy to call my tribe. (Trendy, hipster word that may be, but in this instance it’s apt so I’m using it.) As a result of all this, I’ve been undergoing a period of self-reflection, facing some hard truths, and finding monumental positivity through it all. I’d like to share more about this on here, so I guess you can consider this your fair warning. (smile) All I ask is that everyone keep an open mind – you never know what you might discover!

I’d say everything else is on par. I went through some scary moments with my health at the end of last year, but I feel like I’m back on track now with a better idea of how to stay there. I’ve decided that I’m perhaps better off not discussing work for the moment, so I’m going to leave those updates out for the foreseeable future. I go, it goes – that’s about all there is to say anyway. Life is an interesting thing…